Killers
by Hyruleepona
Summary: Concealing a past only strengthens what you tried to hide. The uncut version of former Escaping the Fear. Guns, knives, cursing ect later on, minor romance of OCxZane and OCxAtticus if I can get it to work.
1. Chapter 1

Me: Hello everyone. This is one of my first fan fictions. This is the same one from another website, but it was badly butchered there and I had tone down everything. -.- It's new, revised, and has a bit of violence in it but not a crazy bunch. I mean it's just a card game so just go with what you expect from watching the show. Um I don't own anything except this story and my FC's. I think that's all. ^^'

Laura: Hi! :D I'm the main character.

Me: -.- Let them read. ^^

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Chapter 1 ~ How it began

Laura awoke quite suddenly. It was a week after her sixth birthday. She slowly sat up in her bed and cast a wary eye around her room and listened closely. The house was completely silent. There was no reason why it shouldn't; it was only 6:26 a.m.

Her brothers, Seto and Mokuba, were no doubt asleep and the same for her parents.

She lay back down her bed, frowning. She had been dreaming of something, but she couldn't remember. She closed her eyes and racked her brain, trying to remember but she couldn't, seeing as it was so early. Instead she drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, it was well after noon. Laura had not told anyone about her dream, seeing as she could hardly remember it herself. She walked out of the house and into the backyard, still frowning as she tried to remember. She sat down on a bench and closed her eyes in deep thought.

There was a dragon…yes, a pale blue one. There were also two cars… and a dark aura seemed to be emitting from one of them. That one crashed into the second car… and the a fire started. Yes that was it. Two cars crashed and then a dragon rose out of it. Laura shook her head. It made no sense, but that was all she could remember.

Something brushed her ankle and she heard a soft _mew. _ Looking down, she saw her black kitten, Inky. Inky purred and jumped into her lap.

"Hello Inky," Laura said happily, scratching her head. Inky stretched her legs out, ready for a good nap, when Laura's mother suddenly called.

"Laura!" Inky jumped in shock and hissed.

"Yes mom?" Laura called back. Inky stalked away and sat under a bush.

"You better hurry up, we're going to leave in a couple minutes."

That was right. It had been awhile since they all had left the house, so they were leaving to have a drive around the city. It was about time they had a little fresh air. Upon hearing this, Inky got up and hurried back. She looked at Laura sweetly.

"Oh Inky," Laura said. "You can't come with us. Remember last time? You went completely berserk when you saw that squirrel."

Inky drooped her head sadly.

"Tell you what," said Laura, attempting to cheer her up. "When we come back, I'll let you chase a bird for once." _You'll never catch one though, thankfully. _She thought. This did, however, seem to cheer Inky up considerably, and Laura began to make her way outside to the car.

Domino City was just as bustling as ever. Cars were speeding this way and that, people were crowding the streets, and some kids were dueling while sitting at tables in nearby stores. And yet, and yet…

She couldn't help but remember her vision. She peered out the window, hoping to find something to take her mind off of the vision. All she saw were trees, acres and acres of trees. No, there was something more than trees. She looked ahead on the road and saw a car that looked eerily familiar. She racked her brain, trying to remember, and then it hit her.

It was the same, dark car, that had crashed into another. She looked around, panicking. There was no sign of a dragon, and the whole idea was ridiculous anyway. She glanced back at the car, and was shocked to see more than just the car. There was a strange, dark aura surrounding it.

She looked at her brothers, Seto and Mokuba, quickly. They were both slowly dozing off to sleep.

"Um Dad?" she asked hesitantly. "Something's not right about that car."

"What do you mean Laura?" he asked, peering at it. "It looks perfectly fine to me. Actually, that's a very nice looking car."

Laura sat back, feeling sick. She knew something bad was going to happen. Before she could give it a second thought, she felt an intense pain in her head and heard a cold, blood thirsty voice say _"You will not interfere"._ She closed her eyes in pain, and missed everything that happened next.

She heard the sounds of screeching tires, her family screaming, the shattering of glass. Suddenly, she was thrown from the car with such a tremendous force. One of the doors from the car had come flying after her, and fell on top of her. She couldn't move.

Flames started to spark around her from the broken remains of both cars. She struggled, trying to get up, but her leg cracked painfully. She couldn't help it; she began to cry.

"It's alright kid," said a gruff voice next to her. She blinked and looked up to see a group of fire fighters surrounding the wreckage, trying to fix it. The one standing next to her lifted the door of her and gently picked her up. He set her back down on her feet when they had reached a safe distance away from the crash, where a large crowd of people were standing. She tried to stand, but her leg failed, and she felt herself falling before Seto, who was standing there with Mokuba, grabbed her arm and helped her stand.

"Wh-what happened?" she stammered.

"Car crash," said Seto, his voice shaking slightly. "They're looking for Mom and Dad now but…I don't exactly want to see it."

Laura felt the air around her turn cold. It couldn't be true. These things only happened in movies, they weren't real. But an hour later, she realized it _was _true. Her parents had died in the crash, and the driver of the other car was nowhere to be found. An hour later, they were sitting in the local Police Station. Seto was sitting silently, not having said much all day, but he was rather pale. Laura was shaking, holding Mokuba tightly. He was too young to understand what happened, but there was no doubt that he knew something was indeed wrong.

"We'll just have them head back, get their things and set them off," said the Chief. "Alright, good-bye." He hung up the phone and turned to three of them.

"You kids are going to be alright, y'hear?" he said gently. "We're going to head back to your house now so you can gather up all your belongings. Now since you're all underage, you'll be living at an orphanage for awhile. If someone comes to adopt you, you're free to go. If that doesn't happen, well since you're the oldest," He turned to Seto. "12 right? When you're 18 then, I suppose you three can live together. Okie dokie then, let's head out!"

The drive back to their house felt extremely short. It seemed to Laura she had only just stepped into the car when they had already arrived. She slowly walked to her room. Inky was sitting on her bed, and bounded towards Laura happily when she entered. She attempted to jump into her arms, but Laura wasn't even looking at her. She silently began to pack her things into a suitcase. She went back to a shelf and was taking off the books when she spotted a strange stone.

It was quite jagged, and seemed just like a diamond, but instead of being clear, it was a shade of pale blue. She held it up and examined it closely. There didn't seem to be anything special about, and it certainly wasn't hers.

"Have you ever seen this before Inky?" She asked. Inky looked at, but shook her head. She did, however, run to Laura's jewelry box and bring her a thin silver chain. Laura attached it to the stone and tied it around her neck for safe keeping, and then resumed her packing silently. She gave her room one last wistful glance, then picked up Inky and her suitcase and walked outside to her join her brothers as they waited for her.

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Me: Thank you very much for reading! :D

Laura: Yes, my life, very exciting isn't it?

Me: -.- Erm anyway, please review it, tell me what's bad, what's good, what needs work. I know it's only one chapter but still. I don't know how soon I can have the next chapter up because I'm working on the butchered version too so it's a little hard to balance both. This original was very short.


	2. Chapter 2

Me: I have a couple of things to say to you all before you can read this next chapter. If you are a jackass, you can either stop reading now and never comment again, or continue to be a jackass. If you find my story fine, you're not insulting it, then please skip this, but just read the next line because that is rather important.

1. Maybe I didn't make this clear, and there seemed to be some trouble with the butchered version too. **LAURA IS 6 YEARS OLD RIGHT NOW. ** Honestly, what do you do if a car door falls on you? -.- That's all for anyone who wasn't insulting my writing. Now you can skip the rest and go on to reading the chapter.

2. Attention all jackasses: I do not permit senseless, immature bitches to insult my work, and you will definitely not bring up that crap of Mary Sue about my writing. If you can't make any constructive criticism, then get the hell out of here and stop wasting everyone's time. What are you gaining from this other than having me curse you out? It's quite frankly annoying and very stupid of you, and if I didn't know better, I'd say you were most likely a little 8 year old who didn't get the toy they wanted for their birthday. Grow up jackass.

3. I do not think I am important. Yes dork, I have watched the subbed versions and English versions, so I know how the plot lines work. Where's the fun in FF's if you can't write how you want? F$% off and stop annoying the hell out of everyone.

Once again, I don't mind criticism. I do mind stupid losers barging up here and insulting my work beyond belief. There's a simple solution to this; go away. You'll be making yourself and everyone else here happy.

Yes I know some scenes seem slightly rushed; I'm not perfect at making scenes, I'm just doing my best. Thank you for that, xXDarkUmbreonXx. I don't mind things like that. As for your question, yes I'm going to change the timeline around. This is my story isn't it? I can write how I want too. Any jackass opposed to that, well that's your problem now isn't it? If you don't like it, don't read it, but let other people comment dammit.

Another thing, do _not _judge a story by the first chapter. Any idiot who does that is plainly mentally challenged. Now if the jackasses are done attacking my story, I'll continue for those that want me to. If you want to know info on Laura, you can visit my profile; there I have they bios of the characters I made, some which won't appear for quite some time. However this is a warning, there are some spoilers, so if you wish, ask me and I will post with the next chapter the information about the characters you need to know, without the spoilers. And as yugiohgx5dsgrl said before, there are many times in which Laura does not star completely. There _are _other characters.

Laura: o_0 Okay um… Here's the next chapter. ^^'

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Chapter 2 ~ Power of the Dragon

"Alright kids," said the Chief. "In you get." He pointed at the car they had come in.

Seto was still silent as he sat in, and Mokuba was clinging to his arm. Now, however, Laura's grief seemed to be beyond tears. She followed her brother's into the car, but hardly glanced at them. The chief closed the door, sat in the driver's seat, and began to drive away. Laura took one last glance at her home, the place she had lived happily, and the last place she had been with her parents, before the car turned and it disappeared from view.

She closed her eyes and slumped back in her seat, trying to understand everything that had happened in the past few hours. Her parents had no doubt been chosen to be murdered. Someone wanted them out of the way, but Laura had no idea why. What was so important that it was necessary to murder the parents of 3 children?

Thinking about it was too painful now. She instead turned her thoughts to the dream she had.

_That dragon…I know I've seen it before. I-in a game maybe?_

As soon this thought came to mind, she pulled her deck, or rather the few cards she had collected. They were all dragons, her favorite type. Dragons symbolized power, wisdom, all the qualities people would want. But that wasn't exactly why she chose dragons. Something about them just seemed to comfort her. She sifted through them, searching, searching…

At last she had found it. An average strength, level 7 dragon; Hyozanryu. It was, by far, one of her favorite cards. It was also a recent edition, given to her by one of her closest friends, Serenity Wheeler, on her 6th birthday. They had gone to a local card shop and Serenity had bought her a card of her choice. Back then, Laura had only picked it because it was a dragon, and the color caught her eye. Now that she remembered it, the seller had said something strange…

_Laura picked up a card. It was a majestic dragon, but didn't seem very powerful for it's level. _A dragon created from a massive diamond that sparkles with blinding light, _that was the description. _

"_What do you think of this one?" she asked Serenity._

"_Um it seems kind of weak doesn't it?" she asked._

"_Well I suppose," Laura said slowly. "But with a good strategy, it could work."_

"_Well if you want it, it's your choice," replied Serenity._

_They walked towards the counter, and Laura handed the man the card. He looked at it in surprise._

"_You sure you want this kid?" he asked uncertainly. "There's plenty of other cards around here that are way better you know."_

"_What's wrong with it?" Laura asked defensively._

"_Nothing, nothing," he said hastily. "It's just, well don't you know about this one?"_

"_What's…wrong with it?"_

"_Ah nothing like that," he laughed. "Alrighty, here goes. Duel Monsters began back in Ancient Egypt, where they had real monsters. Really powerful sorcerers would use their magic and trap the monsters in stone tablets, and be able to use them at their will. Now these people were only the Pharaoh and his priests. _

_Now there was this one little girl. They say she was left orphan in the wars they were having at that time. One of the priests there had found her and brought her back to the palace. The Pharaoh, great man he was, allowed her to live there. She was only about 10 after all. She grew up and she was trained as one of the Priests students. Aye, she was pretty darn good, she was. She could summon all these monsters and boy where they strong. But her favorites were by far those Dragons. Yep, and when she summoned them they say it was almost like the Pharaoh summoning it._

_So, a lot of people are thinking this girl and that dragon there you got were connected somehow. That was definitely the one she used the most… I forget why though. But they say this one in particular, something is definitely different about it, like it's pure light. Ah, there was another thing too. They said it was the same shade of blue as that girl's eyes, so they think it's lucky you know?_

_But most don't want it because, well let's just face it. It's not such a powerful card now is it?"_

Laura didn't duel very well yet. Seto was the real duelist, but he was taking time to teach her. As she examined the card closely, she realized the coloring seemed familiar. She detached the stone from the chain around her neck and held them up at eye level. They were the same shade of pale blue. A thought occurred to her and she glanced in the mirror at her reflection. Looking back and forth from her eyes to the stone, something else occurred to her. The stone was the same color as eyes as well.

_Great, now I believe these weird stories. _She though bitterly. _So we both have the same eye color as this dragon, big deal. It's not like I'm just going to get a bunch of magical powers out of nowhere…they guy's cracked…_

The car suddenly shuddered to a halt and Seto and Mokuba, who had fallen asleep long ago, woke up with a jolt.

"Here we are kids," said the Chief gesturing out the window. "You're new home."

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Me: This chapter wasn't supposed to be too long; it's just to give a little background info. One more thing, Laura will not be a kid for the entire story. T_T After awhile, I'm just going to skip ahead to when she's 15, because no one wants to read about everything that happens in between. There will be a brief summary about what happens though.

Laura: Review please. ^^


	3. Chapter 3

Me: I thought I'd get this out of the way now. If you read my 4kids version, you noticed that I wasn't allowed to use the word "knife" and had to use "case" instead. -.- That is definitely changed. I also had to cut out quite a bit of chapters and had to come with the _Chaos Annihilator _thing because of that. That is also changed. . Mm anyway that's all for now. Once school starts again, expect a chapter a week, probably on Saturdays and Sundays. Then again, it depends how much work I get. =(

Thank you for those that like my writing. ^^ It makes me feel very good and yes I will continue this fic regardless of comments I get. Yes I know my summary was awful. =_=' I'm not good at them and I will change it, just once I figure what would be better to write.

You'll find a character appearing in this one that you should recognize. ;) He has a somewhat important role later on.

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Chapter 3 ~ Mind Control

Laura stepped out of the car and looked up at the building in dismay. It was quite the large building, although it was rather grim looking. It didn't seem much like a place for orphaned children to live. It was also rather shabby, and resembled a rundown store.

"Well, it's not that bad," said Mokuba uncertainly looking at it. Laura glanced around. There weren't any other children in sight, be she could hear their laughter, and it seemed to irk her. She herself was slightly surprised as to why, when she had no idea who they were.

Seto glanced at her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted when a man stepped out the building. He was quite tall, had neat black hair and wore glasses.

"Hello children," he said with a warm smile. "My name is Kyle Jables, but if you prefer you may call me D."

He bent down and stood next to them so they were at eye level.

"Now, I know you've been through a terrible ordeal," he said gently. "But don't worry about that. You're young, there's no need to fret about it. You'll meet lot's of new friends and -"

"Oh please, spare me the pity speech," Laura snapped in an uncharacteristically harsh voice.

There was a tense silence in which Seto's grip tightened painfully on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry sir," he said. "Please forgive my sister. She's still a little shaken up right now."

"That's quite alright," he said and turned to Laura. "I can understand what it must be like for you. You see, I recently adopted a young boy as well. He's about your age. But as difficulties arise," he lowered his voice slightly. "Difficulties can cause a change in a person. When that comes about, you shouldn't let it get the best of you."

He stood up and beckoned the three to follow him.

"Come on now, why don't you go meet some of the children? This will be your home for the time being, so get to know the others." Seto glanced at Laura quickly.

"Would it be alright to go to our rooms first?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course. Actually it might be better for you to settle in."

D led them through the building and to an average sized grey one, which was presumable the dorms. He showed them to a door and left them. Seto opened it and stepped inside, his hand still gripping Laura's shoulder. Laura, who hadn't said anything since her strange outburst, closed her eyes as he led her towards one of the beds.

The room was quite comfortable. Three average sized beds had been placed in. There was a small shelf with books in it, as well as some toys suitable for children Mokuba's age. Near a corner was also a large mirror with cabinets on both sides.

Laura stumbled towards one of the beds, and without a warning collapsed onto it.

"Are you okay sis?" said Mokuba, slightly alarmed.

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

"You look terrible," said Seto. He put a hand up to her forehead. "You're burning up. Rest for awhile and we'll come back and check up on you in a couple hours."

They both left the room, with one last glance at her. Laura buried her head in one of the pillows.

_What on earth is happening to me? _She thought bitterly. _I got out of the car…and then…I don't know. _She pounded her head in frustration. _Okay it was like…I was looking out from somewhere else, watching everything happen. Is that even possible?_

As soon as this thought occurred, a dim glow lit up the walls. She raised her head and tried find where it was coming from, which was from her deck. She took it out and saw the first card, Hyozanryu, was glowing. She started when she heard a cold, male voice speak.

"So this is the new brat sent to defeat me?"

She jumped and looked around. The room was empty.

"I am NOT a brat!" she said angrily. The cold voice spoke again.

"Well, someone's got nerve talking to _me _like that. Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"Well maybe I _would _if you'd stop hiding."

"Very well…I'll show you. Go stand in front of that mirror."

Laura's eyes fell on the large mirror and walked towards it hesitantly, presuming that was the one since it was the only mirror in the room. She stared at her reflection; a pale 6 year old girl, and her pale eyes seemed to grow even brighter as the room slowly began to dim.

"I said look in the mirror, not the room brat," said the voice again. Laura frowned and looked back in the mirror, closer this time.

Her reflection suddenly smiled a cold shrewd smile. The eyes also changed for blue to blood red.

"What the-?" she gasped as she stepped back, her eyes wide. Her reflection stepped out of the mirror, and slowly began to change its form. It turned into a mass of black, completely shapeless, but where she presumed was the head kept the startling red eyes. She looked around the room and to her shock, it began to swirl.

"Let's take a little trip," said the mass, and a cold laughter rang out again.

She was engulfed in darkness, unable to see anything. She suddenly felt her feet slam onto a surface and collapsed from the force. She opened her eyes and squinted around her. She couldn't quite make out her surroundings; just that she was in a dark place with a smoke swirling around. She jumped as she heard the signs of sirens approaching.

"How every boring," said the cold voice again. "Just the same thoughts all the time. You're even more pathetic than I thought. The last guy at least put up a _bit _of a challenge."

Laura stood up and spotted the same silhouette from before.

"W-what are you?" she stammered.

"Oh now that's just cold," it said in a mock hurt voice. "_What?_ Now that just makes me feel insulted. Yes you are quite a disrespectful stupid little child."

"Oh _I'm _the immature child? You're the one who still hasn't explained who you are!"

"Temper-temper," he smiled. _Toying with this punk sure is fun, _he thought. _But I need to see if I'm right. If the Dragon does appear, she's still here. Then again, that shouldn't be much of a problem. She's no better than her little followers _

"Do you always think out loud?" said a new voice.

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Me: And there it is. Hope you enjoyed it. ^^ Not too sure when I can have the next one up. I need to get the new chapter on the other version sometime soon, but I will try update this one too.


	4. Chapter 4

Me: Sorry for the delay. I haven't been feeling very good so I haven't exactly done much. I had this chapter typed up for awhile, but I didn't get a chance to upload it. I forgot to have the character appearance last time. Sorry about that but here it is now.

Name: Laura Kaiba

Current Age: _**6**_

Current Height: About 4 ft I suppose, your average height for that age

Eye Color: Light Blue

Hair: Brown, straight, goes half way down her back

We also have a new character:

Name: Reena

Appearance: Think of a 20 year old

Height: 5 ft 9 I guess? Once again, same as the above

Hair: Long, straight, brown

Eye color: Light blue

For my old readers, Reena is Larai as you can probably guess. I just didn't like that name much so I changed it.

I think that's all you need to know for now. I don't own anything except this fic and my fc's.

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Chapter 4 ~ Enter Reena

Laura's eyes fell on the new stranger that had arrived. She seemed about 20 or so, with long brown hair and light blue eyes. She was also had a grin on her face, but her eyes remained cold. There was also a gold object on her right wrist.

"I'm surprised at you Shadow," she said smirking. "_This_ is what you've stooped to? Annoying a little kid? You're even more pathetic than I thought you were."

The mass was silent for a moment, and then took on the form of a human, although it still remained faceless except for the red eyes. This human seemed to be the same age as the girl who had come.

"Welcome back, my old friend," he said, grinning. "I was wondering when you'd show up. After all, the last one didn't seem like _he _was going to last too long."

"You tortured that poor child to death," she said scornfully. "And he was even younger! You have no shame, picking on those who have no way to defend themselves. That's all you are and what you always will be, a coward."

She seemed to have touched a nerve. His eyes brightened sharply, and their surroundings turned red for a moment. Then he changed his face into a cold smile.

"So you think I'm a coward?" he said softly.

"I think you're pathetic. You do nothing but try to finish off your enemies when they're most vulnerable."

She sighed, clearly frustrated and annoyed. She turned to Laura quickly.

"Alright kid, back off for a moment and get to some place safe," she said matter-of-factly. Laura stared at her, and then at her surroundings. There was nowhere _to _go. It was nothing but an empty place swirling with dark fog. She turned back to Reena, but she was already looking at Shadow, who had begun to speak.

"What's the matter Reena? Don't think the new kid's good enough?"

"Honestly, would you even _listen _to yourself?" she said, this time quite angrily. Laura was shocked to see a light blue outline begin to glow around her, the same shade as the stone. At that moment, her stone began to glow, and she heard a faint cry of a dragon.

She turned back to Reena and saw her raise her right arm. The gold object opened, revealing three flaps. One of them had a drawing of a dragon on it, and she began to chant.

"_Great diamond dragon, in this dark hour,_

_I command you to lend me your power._

_Appear in this darkness and shine your light,_

_Upon my enemy, unleash your might."_

Laura watched as a bright light appeared next to Reena. Wings began to burst through it, and an all too familiar dragon rose out of it and flew straight up before landing to halt next to its controller.

Shadow backed away, a look of fury on his face, but he too had called out a dragon, this one came out of the ground. Remarkably, it looked quite similar to Reena's, except that it was black instead of blue and had the same blood red eyes as its master. Shadow grinned again.

"And now we fight," he said.

"Not quite," Reena replied with a grim smile. "Get us out of here Rui!"

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled, but Reena's dragon had spread its wings around her and Laura, incasing them in a large sphere. There was a bright flash of light and Shadows mingled yell of fury was heard before Laura found herself sitting on her bed.

She jumped up and looked around, panting heavily. The room looked the same, no one else was there; no mass, no dragon, nothing.

_Could it have been a dream? _She thought uncertainly.

"Not really."

Laura jumped so violently she cracked her neck. She gritted her teeth and massaged it in pain as she looked around to see where the voice was coming from. There she was, sitting cross legged in mid air, floating in front of her and quite transparent, Reena. She was looking at Laura thoughtfully.

"How-who-?!" stammered Laura.

"Hm?" said Reena vaguely, looking around the room. "Oh me? Name's Reena."

"Um," said Laura, still staring at her.

"What else do you want to ask kid?" asked Reena.

"Um what just happened?" She said uncertainly.

"Ah, okay," said Reena. She floated over to a chair and sat on it. "Sit down, don't talk and listen to everything I say," she said matter-of-factly.

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Me: Well as you can probably guess, the next chapter's going to be a lot of conversations and not much action. I'll get that up when I have time, I've been quite busy lately. -.-


	5. Chapter 5

Me: Okay once again a message to my old readers: this chapter is a combination of both parts of chapter 5 and also 6. They all go together, but because it was longer than the previous ones I posted them separately. Nothing too new, everything you need to know storyline wise will be explained.

Laura: Enjoy. ^_^

Me: I do not own Yugioh, only my fcs and this fic.

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Chapter 5 ~ A Little History

"Let's start with me shall we?" said Larai as she began to examine her nails. "I am in fact a – I think it's 5,000 now? – year old spirit. That stone you've got there manifests a bit of my power, which I'll tell you more about later. Anyone is able to use it, like take a gun for example. Anyone can come across it and use it, but someone who _knows _how to use it will be able use it more fitfully. In this case those who follow me will be able to use it to their advantage. You with me so far?"

"Um-"

"Good! Now let me tell you about that vision you had."

"You know about that?"

"Course I do!" said Reena. "How dumb do you think I am? Now as I was saying, first you need to meet Rui here."

As she spoke, she waved her hand carelessly next to her. A dim blue glow appeared and in a flash of light, a pale blue, sparkling dragon appeared. Laura stared at it faintly.

"Um I have that dragon's card," she said, taking it out of her deck.

"And you should. Now quiz time. What's this dragon's name?"

"Hyozanryu?"

"No!" said Reena. "It's Rui!"

Laura stared at her with an exasperated expression.

"It says Hyozanryu on the card…" she said slowly.

"Well Rui sounds cuter," said Reena brightly. "Now on we go. About your vision. Well I'd say it was Rui trying to give you a heads up of what was going on. Now that's only one guess I've got."

"Guess?" said Laura disappointedly. "You mean you don't know what's going on?"

"You can't expect me to have all the answers," Reena fired back. "I'm just telling you what I know."

"Alright alright!" said Laura slightly alarmed. "No need to throw a hissy fit."

"Well anyway," continued Reena. "Back to me. I lived 5,000 years ago in Egypt. At that time we had a Pharaoh named Akhenamkhanen. He had a son, but I think he was a few years older than me. Anyway, a few years after I was born, pretty bad times started. Wars breaking out everywhere, people rebelling against the Pharaoh, all wanting their own power. They were all selfish people.

When I was about 10, things were getting worse. There were more fights, now a few everyday. My parents were starting to worry about me and little brother and sister. They didn't think it was safe for us to stay in Egypt anymore. We did leave eventually, but it didn't go too smoothly. But we got caught in the cross fires. I lost my parents first; they were killed right before my eyes. My brother, sister and I tried to get out, but it wasn't that easy. We were caught again, and these people didn't show mercy to anyone. They figured the more blood they shed, the quicker they'd overcome the Pharaoh. They didn't look too smart, but when it came to killing, they were the first.

Me being the oldest, the figured they could hold my siblings hostage to get me stop running. I did for a minute and they were about to kill me too, but lucky for me Rui came to my rescue. I saw light coming out of a far off building, a light blue one. I'd never seen brightness like that before. Out of that light, I could just make out a dragon flying towards us. In a second, Rui was right there with us and had fired a great big energy blast at the guys who were holding us captive. Of course it was quite a strong beam and it sent me flying quite a bit. I was unconscious for some time, but when I came around I found myself quite close to the palace."

"How do you know you were the only survivor?" Laura asked hesitantly.

Reena was quite for a moment, something she hadn't done in years.

"I found them," she said quietly. "I walked away for a bit and I saw them kill my brother and sister. Before I knew it, I was standing next to the guy with one of the spears someone else had dropped and…I killed him."

There was a cold silence for awhile. Laura couldn't bring herself to look at Reena; she had a deathly look on her face.

"Shouldn't…you have let someone else do it?" she asked timidly.

Reena laughed unpleasantly.

"Oh yes, I'll let them take the person who killed my family to jail for awhile. He can sit there, still living while I live alone, without my family. That's exactly what I want isn't it?"

She scowled, but continued speaking.

"Anyway, they palace guards found me and brought me in to the Pharaoh. I was in quite a fatal condition, and they probably wouldn't have let me stay there if it wasn't for that. They treated me until I was well enough to speak, and then began to interrogate me. You see, they found that little stone you've got there," she pointed to the stone around Laura's neck. "And they were quite suspicious about it. There was also the fact that Rui came to my aid, when it was never called upon. Rui was one of the only monsters in their possession that no one could summon and yet somehow it showed itself.

Now curious as they were about this event, they weren't altogether sure what exactly to do with me. One of the priests, Seto," Laura raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Had asked the Pharaoh if I could stay at the palace, because he knew I had nowhere else to go. He naturally agreed, great man he was, but asked that I be one of Seto's students; he would train me to become a priest as well. Seto agreed but gave me this first." She waved her right arm around, pointing at the golden object.

"What is it?" Laura asked.

"It's called a DiaDhank," replied Reena. "It's quite useful. Back then, only the Pharaoh and his priests were allowed to summon monsters, so naturally I had to have one too."

The 3 flaps opened and Laura could just make out a picture of a dragon on it glowing brightly. At that instant, an average sized purple dragon appeared next to Reena, as transparent as her, and then disappeared.

"What happened to it?" she asked shocked.

"Don't worry, they're just spirits," said Reena laughing. "You don't have to always be able to see them. Anyway, after I got my new toy," she waved her wrist around again. "Seto took me to a chamber, the same one from where I saw the jet of light come out from. When we went in, the first thing I noticed were the walls. They weren't your average walls. Each one had little stone tablets on them, must've been hundreds. Each one of them were dragons, and I'll bet if you took one of your cards and held it up, they'd look pretty similar."

Laura pulled out her deck and glanced at the cards quickly.

"You mean they were Duel Monsters?"

"Sure thing kiddo," Reena yawned and stretched her arms. "You heard of Pegasus? He went to Egypt and designed the game off of them. These were some of the monsters that the Pharoah's priests could use, but Seto also said not everyone could control every monster. It's like natural instinct, they just went with what felt right. Seto showed me one tablet that everyone was quite curious about. He said that no one had been able to summon it, not even any Pharaoh."

"Hyozanryu?"

"Yup. That's why they were so surprised about me." Reena leaned back in her chair and frowned as she thought back.

"_We don't understand exactly how you've come to be the only person this dragon answers to," said Seto. "But you're going to be trained to _use _that power."_

"_W-what?!" said Reena in shock. "You expect_ me_ to do what you all do? I'm just a kid here! Besides I haven't even had a say in this.__"_

"_Would you rather serve the Pharaoh or be left to fend for yourself?"_

_Reena looked away. She would've rather been alone. It would have been easier; after all she had lost her family. How could being alone cause her more misery? Yet she knew her time to choose was over. Her choices were long gone and now everything would be decided for her. As these thoughts passed through her mind, the tablet in front of her began to glow. The vast dragon seemed to come out of it; large, sparkling as a diamond, and pale blue, it spread it's enormous wings and landed quite gently on the floor in front of them. Its eyes glowed brightly as at stared directly into Reena's. She stood there, her mouth slightly gaping until she turned around quickly, her eyes blank, and began to speak._

"_This child must remain safe." _

"_W-what?" said Seto stepping back in shock, but he knew this dragon was speaking through her._

"_Shadow," she said tonelessly. "He will come in due time and will threaten your land. However, he is young now. The boy will grow and this child must do battle with him. As now, she will be the only one to stop him. Train her, to summon my fellow dragons. She must be able to summon them with ease, otherwise chaos will strike."_

Reena shook her head. _Always so dramatic. _ She thought.

"So, I was trained for 10 years until I finally mastered summoning monsters," continued Reena. "I was able to summon most monsters, but dragons were the most powerful. And yet as ready as I was, Shadow didn't have the manners to show up." She rolled her eyes. "_Finally _when I was 20 he decides to show up. From the time I had arrived to live at the palace until then, things had eased up. Remember the wars I told you about?"

"Oh, so you mean the wars started up again?"

"No but I wish they had," Reena said bitterly. "People started to feel…bad."

Laura snorted. "Feel _bad?_"

"It was… like the atmosphere all around was bleak, and heavy. Like a _hopeless _feeling. Then people would start complaining that they were having nightmares, but they weren't ordinary ones. Most said they were memories, old and terrible ones they had tried to block out over the years, and yet they were coming back. I figured it had to be Shadow, and sure enough he finally decided to show up."

"Old memories," Laura muttered thoughtfully. "Do you think…he could be coming back now? I keep thinking of my parent's death, it comes back."

"Yeah that's the idea," said Reena. "You've already seen him so we know he's here, and it's your job to take him down. I'd do it myself you know, but I'm not exactly in the condition."

Reena yawned and stretched her arms, glancing at the clock.

"Hm about 2 hours went by already." They were both silent for a moment.

"Reena?"

"Hm?"

"There's something I don't get. You're still the same age right? I mean you were 20 when Shadow came and you look about the same age."

"Oh yeah," she said casually. "Well in our battle, I died, both of us actually."

"But you two are still alive?"

"Kind of. I will remain as a spirit for now. Once you grow up a bit and get a brain," Laura scowled. "I'll be able to be more human. I'm not really sure about Shadow's condition though. He's usually in disguise so you'll have to keep an eye out. But the thing about him is that he's never really angry. He toys with his victims, bringing out their worst memories or he'll find your fears. It's enough to kill anyone, and he's done that quite a bit. But don't worry," she said quickly at the look on Laura's face. "You'll be okay for now."

She stood up and glanced at the window. Seto and Mokuba were approaching the dorms.

"Looks like you've got some company," she said briskly. "Look, don't tell your brothers about this okay? Just give it some time and we'll see what we're going to do." She looked at Laura and added gently, "Don't worry about Shadow. He won't come after you know."

The door opened and Seto and Mokuba stepped inside.

"Got to go…"

"You okay sis?" asked Mokuba.

"Yeah, I guess I just had a fever." Laura glanced behind her. Reena was gone but Laura could have sworn she heard her voice telling her what to say.

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Me: ^^' Wow I finally got it done. Later on the chapters will be around this length. I'll try to post again during the weekend because who knows when I'll be able to when school starts. -_-'


	6. Chapter 6

Me: Okay here's Chapter 6.

Laura: Enjoy! ^-^

Me: I don't own anything except my fic and my fc's.

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Chapter 6 ~ A New Hope?

3 months had passed by since the Kaiba siblings had come to stay at the orphanage. They had grown accustomed to their new lifestyle, even if they didn't like it. Yet for Laura, her home was the least of her worries. As for this new threat, she still wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. Reena had definitely left many gaps in her story; she avoided her battle with this Shadow, she didn't tell much about him. Laura did bring this up, but Reena would insist that she didn't know much about him to begin with.

Laura had told her brothers about Reena. At first they didn't quite believe her until they faced Reena. Laura had asked Reena to show them memories, one of the abilities she had acquired over the years. Mokuba believed her but Seto remained skeptical about the situation; however he didn't repeat his doubt. Reena had also worked with Laura to help her learn these skills as well. Although Laura didn't seem to be able to grasp them at all, Reena wasn't worried. She, after all, hadn't mastered hers until roughly 20.

After some time, however, it seemed their ticket out of the orphanage had finally arrived. Billionaire Gozaburo Kaiba was donating a large amount of money personally to the orphanage and Seto seized his chance after the end of an interview.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba," he said innocently. Gozaburo turned around and glared at him.

"Hm?! I don't have time for little urchins. Go on play with some toys."

"Well since you've come all this way," Seto went on. "Why don't we have a little game of chess? I win and you adopt my siblings and I."

Laura widened her eyes and Gozaburo thought for a moment.

_He's got spunk… and he could be of some use to me. _He thought.

"Very well," he said. "But if I win neither you nor little orphan friends will disturb me. I'm a busy man and have better things to do than play little games with punks. Lead us to an empty room," he added to a worker.

They were lead to a small room where a chess board was placed on a small table. Gozaburo and Seto sat down facing each other. Laura bit her lip. She had watched Seto study up on Gozaburo's strategies for months straight. He had become a master of it and though she didn't doubt his skills, she wasn't sure about the game. He was always different when he played, as if everything depended on his winning.

_He's too serious, _she thought as she silently watched the game progress. Seto was definitely equal in skill now. Turn after turn he successfully defeated most of Gozaburo's pieces. Gozaburo made his turn and smiled but then-

"And checkmate!" Seto said in triumph.

"Alright!" Mokuba shouted jumping in the air. Laura grinned.

"What?!" Gozaburo shouted in rage. "How could a 12 year old brat defeat _me?_"

"Easy," Seto smirked. "You play the way you do business; without thinking."

"Shut up. Go say your last words then. We'll leave by tomorrow."

Laura walked back to her room, slightly dazed. The match went by so quickly. She knew Seto was good, but he played extraordinarily. She couldn't believe it; she was finally leaving after 3 months of living in a dump. Yet in her heart she couldn't help but think of the other children that would be staying here. They had arrived long before them and they would be staying. She tried to push the thought away as she climbed into her bed and slept.

***

She woke up the next morning feeling better than she had in a long time. Although she figured it wouldn't be fun living with a tyrant like Gozaburo, the thought of something new lifted her spirit.

"We have to go," said Mokuba. He was sitting on a chair and waiting impatiently.

"Did you at least eat breakfast?" asked Laura.

"…No."

"Well go then!" she said rolling her eyes. Mokuba left the room quickly as Laura got up and began to gather her things. It took about 15 minutes for her to pack everything, which wasn't too much. She snapped her suitcase shut and dragged it out of the room towards the front of the building, where everyone else was also waiting. Gozaburo was standing next to his limo with a very disgruntled look on his face.

"Well what are you waiting for?" he snapped at the three. "Get in! Hurry up!"

Shaking his head slightly, Seto climbed in followed by his siblings. It was a long ride to Gozaburo's, taking roughly over an hour. He lived a bit further on from the city, where it was filled with the richest people. His home was extremely large and seemed too big for just one person to live in.

When they pulled up in the drive way, Laura looked up at the building with a bit of hope rising. Perhaps it their lives would be a bit easier from now on, living somewhere far from the orphanage. She knew Seto and Mokuba also detested it, giving them a sense of hopelessness. After all, the less they would think about their parents death, they easier it would be to finally move on.

Gozaburo stepped out without saying a word to the other three. He led them inside his home, which was quite glamorous, although Laura didn't want to admit it.

"Well hurry up and pick your rooms," he snapped before walking away briskly.

Seto and Mokuba set off first, Laura walking a little behind them. Reena appeared next her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't like this guy," she said quietly. "Is it really better for us to be here?"

"Well it's either living in a dictatorship or live in poverty," Reena said gravely.

Laura stared at her curiously, because of her choice of words. However Reena didn't seem to notice anything.

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Me: Finally done. This might be the last one for awhile. I don't know how much homework I'll be getting this year. Really wish I could ditch Pre-Calculus though…


	7. Chapter 7

Me: Wow, lame first week of school. Yoga's not exactly fun…especially when you have an immature friend…

Laura: ^^' *picks up hammer* May I?

Me: Knock yourself out. … And you might want to go away; you're a bit of a bitch in this one. .

Laura: T_T

Me: And get back my game he stole. T_T I don't own nothin' except my characters and this ff.

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Chapter 7 ~ The Cyber Dojo

Laura collapsed on her bed in exhaustion. The past few months had been literally torture for her and Seto. Gozaburo had put them hard at work studying difficult classes and filling their brains with information about almost everything; sciences, business skills, ect. His excuse had been so someone would be able to run Kaiba Corp afterwards, but she didn't see the point in forcing her to do all this. Seto was, after all, older by 6 years. If any of them were to take over it would be him. Reena, of course, figured it had something to do with Shadow.

She was very bored and you couldn't really blame her. She was stuck waiting for a villain that would not reveal his plans to show up and he was taking his sweet time. She of course had no idea what he could be doing, but insisted that anyone who was causing trouble was working under his orders. Laura had to work very hard to refrain herself from rolling her eyes each time she said this.

"Hey cheer up," said Reena idly. "It could be worse." She was sitting on a chair watching TV. Over the time that had passed, she had become less transparent, more like flesh and blood. According to her, it was because she had been close to Laura, who was the only one who could help her become like this. They had brought up this topic several times.

Reena didn't know much even through all the years she had still been living, but she had enough information to assume the rest. Apparently, she could not stay far from the person who was carrying out her job. In this situation, she could not stay far from Laura otherwise she would cease to exist. However, she was also growing in strength so after some time it might be possible for that connection to not be so strict. They had tested this once when Laura had gone quite far away and Reena had been too bored to come. When they had come back, she still seemed fine.

"Oh yeah?" scowled Laura. "Try me." She flung herself on her bed and buried her head in the pillow, silent for a moment.

"Well well well," said Reena loftily. "Looks like the end of the world for us doesn't it? Little Miss-I-Don-Like-School had decided to give up because she doesn't get what she's supposed to be learning. You do realize if you can't even stand this you won't stand a chance against-"

"I do know thanks," she snarled. "You've only told me about a hundred times."

In contrast to previous times when Laura had snapped back, Reena was actually quiet. Laura did notice but remained silent. She suddenly felt guilty for speaking that way to Reena. She was, after all, only trying to cheer her up – even if it was in her own weird annoying way. Laura sat up to speak but before she could the door swung open and Mokuba walked in with a bowl in his hands.

"Hi sis!" he said brightly. "Thought this would cheer you up."

For the first time in days, Laura felt herself smile. Something about seeing her younger brother, his sweetness, kindness, innocence, it seemed to make her feel better and drive out her frustration.

"Thanks Mokie," she said quietly and helped herself to a piece of chocolate. Mokuba hopped on to the bed and also watched TV while eating. They sat in silence for a moment until Laura found Reena staring at her intently.

"What?" she said grudgingly.

"Something's wrong with you."

"You don't even know me that well!"

"Trust me kid; when you've only got one person for company, you get to know them pretty well. So I'll either let you talk now or I keep bugging you until you crack."

Reena looked at her expectantly and Laura looked down for a minute. Mokuba glanced at them and turned away. Laura lifted her head and Reena was slightly shocked to see her eyes swimming with tears. Mokuba looked back with his mouth slightly open.

"Wh-hey-don't-" Reena stammered.

"I'm-scared okay?" she said, her voice finally breaking. "I'm only 6 – and you're expecting – me to go up against some – thing – that k-killed my parents? And now we have to live with this tyrant? H-he cares nothing about us, nothing! It's all just been for him and his stupid plans. W-why did mom and dad die? It should have been m-me!" and she broke down again as Reena looked around nervously; she was not good with kids.

Seto was in his room trying to deal with his aching head when he suddenly heard sobbing he recognized as Laura's. He made his way to her room where he found her sobbing, Reena looking in the opposite direction determinedly, and Mokuba looking at her.

"What did you do?" Seto asked Reena furiously.

"What do you mean _me?_" she scowled. "It's not my fault."

Seto glared at her and walked over to Laura to put a hand on her shoulder as he sat next to her.

"Laura?" he said gently. She looked up slowly.

"I don't want any of this to happen," she said quietly. "I can't stand it. I get this cold feeling every day and I remember seeing…their bodies…"

Seto turned pale and Reena looked at her quickly.

_Already? _ She thought. _At least it'll be over then._

"That's it," Seto said firmly. "I'm getting you out of here. The old geezer is leaving soon for that meeting. Come down stairs in about an hour. Pack everything you think you would need for…" He paused for a minute. "A vacation. I've already asked someone to take you in for awhile so go with whoever comes." And with that he left. Laura sighed heavily and proceeded to packing her things.

Roughly an hour later, she was outside with Inky and her belongings. She had been sitting on the steps for a few minutes when a silver limo pulled up. A slightly fat, bald man stepped out and approached her.

"Laura is it?" he asked. She nodded.

"I am Sheppard. This is for you," he handed her an envelope. "But don't open it yet. As you probably now, we cannot be seen by your stepfather, so timing is crucial. Now quickly, we need to leave."

Still uncertain but trusting her brother completely, Laura followed the man as he stepped into the front passenger seat and her in the back. She turned around to face the mansion for the last time, not knowing when she would be back. As confused as she was, she couldn't help but feel a pressure that had been on her the past few months lift, and the sense of hopelessness leave her.

"Well? What's in the letter?" asked Reena as she appeared next to her. Laura slit open the envelope. She took out a letter and a locket in the shape of a card fell into her hand.

"_We have absolutely no idea what is going on, but whatever it is can't be trusted. You staying here is only making things worse for you. If this nonsense is true, then some psychopath is after you and I'm not going to let him hurt you. Gozaburo isn't making things any better by forcing you to do work that people twice your age have to. You're going with Sheppard, the Head of an academy for protégés duelists. It'll be better for you to be there; there'll be kids your age so try to ease up a bit. And don't let Reena bug you too much. I promise you by the time you're back, things will be much better here."_

"Aww how sweet," said Reena rolling her eyes. "_I _haven't done a thing."

Laura knew Seto was kidding when he wrote that and it made her feel slightly better. The fact that something like jokes could still be made was comforting to her. Perhaps her mission wasn't as hopeless as she had thought, but she still didn't have much information to go on. Not wanting to be immersed in those thoughts again, she placed the locket around her neck. She opened it to find two pictures; on the left was a picture of her parents and the right of her, Seto and Mokuba.

The car suddenly shuddered to halt outside the foot of a mountain. Laura stepped out and stared up at it in dismay.

"We have to climb _all _the way up?" she asked in disbelief.

"Why does everyone who comes here say that?" laughed Sheppard. He walked near the mountain and placed his hand against it. Immediately, it opened to reveal an elevator.

"Will this work?" he asked. Laura grinned sheepishly.

The elevator rose some 15 or so floors, finally arriving at the top. They stepped out to reveal a large domed room. Inside were about 100 young children. All of them were sitting at small tables spread out through the room. Each one was dueling against another with a few students watching. Sheppard stepped forwards.

"Truesdale!" he called. A boy with navy blue hair and matching eyes who had been watching a duel looked up in surprised but walked over.

"Why don't you show Laura here around the dojo?"

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Me: After 2 weeks, I'm done. I must have done, what, a conversation a day? ^^' But it was more enjoyable while listening to the Code Geass songs. ^_^ I need to watch all the episodes again.


	8. Chapter 8

Me: New character this chapter.

Name: Kyle

Current Age: 11

Appearance: Black eyes, dark black hair that goes just past his neck, usually dressed in casual clothes with an occasional tie when forced to wear one.

Bio: Kyle is the son of one of Kaiba Corp's Head Executives. He was assigned as a sort body guard to Laura, but he develops a close friendship, more of a brother/sister as opposed to a romantic one.

Laura: ^_^

Kyle: Hello…Oh and Hyruleepona doesn't own anything except her fc's and this fic.

Me: …And now for the chapter.

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Chapter 9 ~ Infiltration

Sheppard led the two across the hall to a set of doors, which he opened, pushed the through, and closed behind them. Laura glanced back and looked up at the boy. At first sight, he seemed a little intimidating. Now that she looked at him though, he seemed okay. His eyes fell on the suitcases next to her.

"Why don't we go to the dorms first and you can settle in?" he asked as he picked them up.

"Oh… yeah." Laura muttered as she picked up her bag. She hated having people doing work for her but she didn't protest.

"I'm Zane by the way," he said. They began to walk and after awhile Zane glanced sideways at her.

"So…why are you here?" he asked. "Sheppard said some kid was coming here because they were having trouble?"

"Yeah something like that," she said, not looking up. "But that's really all I know."

They turned around the corner and arrived at another set of doors that Laura could only assume led to the dorms but she stopped walking abruptly. Something was wrong. The air around suddenly became cold and oppressive, and it became difficult for her to breather. She felt dazed as the room swam in and out of view. She shook her head violently and looked around to find her shadow stretching out behind her. She gasped in shock as it rose in the air, took on a familiar form of a human and its red eyes burned. Zane noticed Laura had fallen behind and turned around in shock.

"What the hell?" he gasped.

Laura backed away as the mass stretched out what looked like 2 arms. One hand had what looked like a revolver. It fired twice, each one hitting her eyes. Too shocked to make a sound, she fell back as she felt her body grow numb, but not before the mass threw something else. A knife flew from the other hand and pierced her chest. She staggered, clutching it in pain as the dark stain grew.

"No!" Reena had arrived but unable to do anything, merely stood there. Zane dropped the luggage in shock when he saw a semi-transparent girl floating in mid-air. Laura tried to open her eyes one last time as she stretched a finger towards the knife, attempting to pull it out before everything grew dark again.

***

Seto was sitting on his bed, looking through his deck. It was definitely getting better but the one card he wanted more than anything was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. So powerful, so rare…and he had no idea how to get one. He glanced over at the photo of himself and his siblings.

_Wonder how she's doing…_ he thought. He couldn't help worrying a little. Yes Laura was a strong person emotionally but not physically. What if she got hurt? But nothing remotely terrible could happen; it was just an academy after all. What was the worst that could happen from playing a children's card game?

"Hey look Seto!" said Mokuba. He had been lying on the floor, coloring a book full of Duel Monsters cards. The one he was currently on was none other than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Seto grinned.

"Wow Mokie. You didn't go out of the lines this time. Keep it up and you could be a great card designer one day. Who knows, maybe Kaiba Corp will make some, after we change it anyway. But it won't be long now."

Mokuba nodded solemnly. There was a sharp knock on the door.

"Dinner," called one of the servants.

"Let's go Mokuba."

The two brothers made their way down towards the dining room. Gozaburo was already sitting at the far end of the long table. He glanced around quickly as they entered.

"Where's your sister?" he barked.

"Visiting a friend," said Seto calmly. Gozaburo slammed a fist on the table.

"Don't play with me you little brat. I know perfectly well you all don't have any friends and I specifically told you bastards not to leave the damn house! Now _where is she?_"

"Sir, we have the security camera," said one of the housekeepers timidly.

"What?" Gozaburo asked sharply. Then a look of dawning comprehension came to his face. "Oh yes, put it on screen."

They turned to see a large screen descending from the ceiling. One of the servants inserted a C.D. into it. It showed the outside of the house. They saw Laura walk out and sit on the steps for a few minutes. Then a large limousine pulled up in the drive way. A man stepped out, spoke to her for a moment and then she followed him. Seto's expression remained unreadable.

"So the old dojo for psychos it is," muttered Gozaburo. "Prepare to leave in 2 weeks time, " he barked at the servants.

***

"..don't understand how this could have happened."

"Something threw a knife at her. How much clearer do you want it?"

"…"

Laura opened her eyes. A boy was arguing with a few grownups. She closed them. Maybe she was delirious.

"I thought this dojo was guarded?"'

"It is."

"Well how do you explain this?"

"Well let's see now. I don't think we always expect some – thing – like that to show up in broad day light. I doubt you know what it is?"

"O-of course not. But -"

"But nothing. You don't know what's going on so I'll thank you to calm down, Kyle."

Kyle? What was he doing here? Laura opened her eyes and shot up, then wishing she hadn't. She gritted her teeth as she felt pain searing through her chest. The boy who had been arguing turned around quickly.

"Miss Laura!" he said relieved. He was about 11 years old with black hair and eyes. Although he was a child, he had that grown up look about him.

"Kyle…?" she said weakly. She blinked. Now that she looked closely, she seemed to be in a hospital room. It was small but full of people. There were half a dozen people in lab coats, whom she recognized as the team of medics Gozaburo had assigned, Sheppard and Zane, who was standing at the table next to her bed.

"What are you doing here Kyle?" she asked, but hugged him tightly. She felt safe whenever he was around.

"Thought I should tag along for a bit, and it's a good thing I did too," he added gravely.

"Your friend here," he nodded to Zane. "- came running for help. He said he heard a voice calling your name. He turned around to see what he says was a ghost standing near you and you falling, with that knife stuck in you." He pointed to a knife that was on the table, still covered in blood. Laura winced.

"It's a good thing he did hurry," Kyle went on. "We got there just in time; you were losing so much blood. The doctors have just patched you up for now but you need to stay here until you've fully recovered."

Laura sighed and nodded until another thought came to her.

"But something else happened. That – thing – shot me." She pointed at something in front of her and then to her eyes and looked uncertainly at Kyle.

"We're working on it, figuring out what happened."

Zane, who had not said a word all this time, quietly slipped the stone, which Kyle had placed on the table, into his pocket and left the room, leaving them to talk. He ran outside, towards the back of the academy where a small forest was. He took out the stone and placed it in his palm. It glinted in the moonlight.

_How does this thing work? _ He though curiously. It suddenly vibrated violently and burned. He dropped it with a yell as it lit up and Reena appeared before him, with an arrogant expression as always.

"What – who – are you?" Zane stuttered. Reena narrowed her eyes.

"_I _am a spirit. The name's Reena. Who the hell are you kid? And where's Laura?" She said the last sentence with a slightly worried look on her face.

"Well she got hurt," Zane began but Reena interrupted him.

"No _duh_," she said rolling her eyes. "I was kind of there when that happened. I mean what's going on _now?_"

Zane gritted his teeth, trying not to lose his temper. What was with this chick, he couldn't help thinking.

"Well they're still in the ward," he said shortly. "If you want to go there that's where Laura is right now -" Reena sped off, leaving Zane looking thoroughly disgruntled.

Back in the room, Laura and Kyle were the only ones left in. Kyle had an arm around her shoulders and was speaking to her gently. Laura had her face covered in one arm and was still clutching her chest with the other. The wound had apparently not healed in the slightest. Kyle looked up when Zane and Reena entered, but didn't make any sign of surprise that he saw Reena, or that he had even seen her.

"Tell you what," he said looking up at Zane. "Why don't you and Zane have a little duel?"

"A duel?" Laura asked looking up.

"Yeah why not? You can see how you do against these prodigies. Maximillien Pegasus sent over a prototype holographic duel stadium. You guys can test it out."

Laura and Zane looked at each other and nodded, grinning slightly. This would be interesting.

******************************************************************************

Me: YES!!! Finally a duel! XD I'm working on changing the duels around to make them longer because they were only about 2 turns before. . Yeah I was pretty lazy but I'm working on it. I'm not at all happy with Pre-Calculus at the moment so I'm not sure when the next chapter can be up.


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